At least one area of concentration for electronic technology development is designing products that operate with increased efficiency, reliability, etc. over longer periods of time. For example, at least one area of development where this trend is highly visible is lighting. Existing incandescent bulb technology is quickly being replaced by compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) and light emitting diode (LED)-based light sources. CFL and LED-based light sources may perform better (e.g., with higher efficiency) and may comprise longer lifetimes than existing incandescent light sources. As a result, many applications are transitioning to these new lighting technologies.
An example application in which LED-based lighting is utilized is in vehicular lighting. For example, automotive lighting such as headlights benefit from the long life, efficiency and reliability of LEDs. LEDs typically do not emit light in a manner focused enough to generate a headlight beam, and thus a light guide may be employed to generate a beam based on the light produced by at least one LED. Total internal reflection (TIR) may be used to very efficiently reflect light generated by the at least one LED light source internally within the light guide to focus the light into a light beam usable as a headlight. Solid TIR light guides operate with high efficiency, but are hard to manufacture (e.g., mold) as the size of the light device (e.g., headlight) increases. Orbital thin wall TIR light guides such as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 8,068,288 B1 (Pitou) are easier to manufacture than solid TIR light guides. However, thin wall TIR light guides generate extensive unfocused peripheral light (e.g., glare) that may obstruct the vision of a driver at night.